Photo by Colleen Banton
Dutch researchers say there is no obvious medical explanation for the near death experience reported by some patients during cardiac arrest.
The near death experience (NDE) has received quite a lot of attention in recent years. It involves a feeling of disconnection from the body during a life-threatening medical crisis – typically a cardiac arrest – and often progress down a tunnel towards a ‘being of light’ with long-dead relatives standing by. It sounds like a transition between life and death. So why do only a few people experience it?
Researchers in Holland followed up 344 patients who had been successfully resuscitated from a cardiac arrest. One fifth reported NDE – but this was not linked to the duration of the arrest or time unconscious. It was more common among the under-60s and women and more people who had NDE’s died shortly afterwards. Two years on those who had NDEs were more likely to have lost their fear of death – surely a benefit – and to believe in an afterlife. The same was true eight years on. But there is still no medical explanation for the NDE.
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